Mapping and explaining interest group access to the European Parliament

The question of interest group access to key decision-makers in policy-making is at the heart of different debates on lobbying in the European Union. Extant research has investigated the relative success of European and national-level organisations, as well as different types of organized interests: from corporate interests, as individual businesses or associations, to diffuse interests including civil society, and broader coalitions. From a demand perspective, legislators’ need for information varies depending both on legislator and legislation characteristics. From a supply perspective, organized interests’ incentives to lobby the EP are not uniform. Hence, what explains which interest groups obtain access from what legislators? How do legislation characteristics affect interest group mobilization across different policy areas? Drawing on comprehensive data on access to key legislators in the 2019-2024 legislative term, this study investigates the “logic of access”. The findings have important implications for our understanding of what information legislators value and how personal, party, policy, and institutional determinants affect the granting of access.